Easter baskets - Page 2

[ginnybee]

Yum! Thanks.

[Laniemama]

Great ideas! I made marshmallows for xmas (peppermint were fantastic!), I think I'll do chocolate covered ones for easter! So far I've bought a few toys, coloring books, and a movie for the baskets. We rarely do candy and if we do it will be a very small amount. Probably the marshmallows will be it and maybe some jelly beans from the natural food store.

[425lisamarie]

We just do presents .

[lil_earthmomma]

I just came across the coolest idea, where you make truffle ganash type chocolate stuff (melt dark chocolate and add heavy cream and flavoring (I'm just doing a splash of real vanilla) and pour into blown out dyed eggs!!! (It suggested to make the top hole the size of a pencil eraser by wiggling the pin around). I think we'll dye the eggs with berry juice and then they will be in baskets with a book each.

[elizawill]

i just finished their baskets. the baskets are just for fun. we don't do the bunny thing. i put socks in there (power ranger socks for ds & flower socks for dd). i put bath foam, play-do, easter eggs filled with money, stuffed animal, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, mad libs & very little candy (a chocolate cross & jelly beans).

[Holiztic]

I wanted to make it more about the event than the stuff (same goal for Christmas, too). So this was our first year of something we plan to continue (he's just about to turn 3):

When he woke up, we told him that I needed to go check to see if the Easter Bunny came, he stayed upstairs with DH while I went and placed colored eggs and little baggies of treats around the yard. Then I left a basket on our front porch with a "clue" rhyme that lead him to the next egg/treat and so on. I read them to him, but he was able to find all the egg/treats on his own.

This is what he got:

small baggie of dried apricot (cut up)

small baggie of cut up apple "cookie" ("health food" kind of cookie/bar with apples, ginger, almond, oats)

small baggie of dark chocolate covered cranberries

a package of foaming bath

and the real treat: a small baggie of the natural version of M&M's (Sun brand, I think) His first (non chocolate) candy--and seeing as chocolate is only at holidays, that's a pretty big treat, too.

He had so much fun hunting and following clues, and while the treats were obviously well received, he's still talking about the "tricky Easter Bunny" and all the places he hid eggs!

[WorldsBestMom]

Decorating your own Easter baskets is kind of fun for me. Yes you can put little items in them and give them as presents too.

[almadianna]

We did dark chocolate covered blueberries and cashews. I make my own or get them from tierra farms. Also granola mixes work.

[justinefbs]

We've always filled my son's Easter baskets with a variety of "treats" - toys, his favorite fruits and veggies, fun socks, art supplies, etc. This year (he's almost 3) i'll also have some healthy homemade chocolates. I actually just wrote a blog post about if, if you're interested in more ideas: http://fullbellysisters.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-to-build-healthier-easter-basket.html

Good luck!

[skreader]

When my kids were little we dyed eggs and also hung some blown & decorated eggs up. On Easter day we would go to church and there was an egg hunt there. We never did the Easter Basket thing & never missed it.  They are now 13 & 15 and this year decorated the eggs w/out me while I was at work. : )

We read the story "The Country Bunny and The Golden Shoes"  - but my kids never expected to have eggs like that.

If you are concerned about artificial colors in standard food dyes, try some of the recipes here

http://chemistry.about.com/od/holidayhowtos/a/eastereggdyes.htm

[CherryBomb]

Originally Posted by funkymamajoy 

Honestly, I just let it go.

It's just one day. I don't keep much of the leftover candy and we don't have allergies to worry.

Me, too.  I tend to be more permissive about this stuff in general, though.